“Mark Zuckerberg gathered about 50 of his top lieutenants earlier this year and told them that Facebook Inc. was at war and he planned to lead the company accordingly. “

So, he’s as good a general as he is a CEO? Facebook shares closed at $139.53 on Friday, down from $218.62 in July, less than 4 months ago, a loss of $228 billion! If Faceberg wanted a sign that Wall Street has lost its faith in him and Facebook, I don’t think he needs the Magic Ouija Board. But I digress!

“But with Facebook under siege from lawmakers, investors and angry users, he needed to act more decisively, the people said. Mr. Zuckerberg’s new approach is causing unprecedented turmoil atop Facebook, driving several key executives from the company, according to people familiar with the matter. …

“This spring, Mr. Zuckerberg told Ms. Sandberg, 49, that he blamed her and her teams for the public fallout over Cambridge Analytica, the research firm that inappropriately accessed private data on Facebook users and used it for political research, according to people familiar with the exchange. Ms. Sandberg later confided in friends that the exchange rattled her, and she wondered if she should be worried about her job.”

…which is exactly the way that leaders at war treat their generals and commanders. You know, blaming them. Facebook has spiraled into assorted disasters, and it has managed none of them well under Commander Aspberger’s war posture. It’s pretty clear who bears the blame for that. **cough** Faceberg himself. **cough**

The Reliable Sources morning email thingie has an interesting tidbit:

This is never a good sign. In a Q&A with employees on Friday, in the wake of that damaging NYT story, Zuckerberg “made it clear that Facebook would not hesitate to fire employees who spoke to The New York Times or other publications,” according to… yes… leaks to the NYT. Zuckerberg also accurately acknowledged that leaks are usually caused by “issues with morale…”

You might recall The Social Network movie from some years ago, you know, that portrayed Zuckerberg as a vicious sociopath (and the irony being that the guy who stole/created social media is incapable of forming any real relationships), is once again in the news.

Because Faceberg owns the majority of the stock, and is on the board, there’s no chance that the board will fire him. So watch this space as they continue to flail about.

The now-cliché Maya Angelou quote “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time,” is in full play here.